Although usable for any floor structures, the present invention, as well as the problem underlying said invention, is described in more detail relative to a floor structure in an aircraft fuselage.
In passenger aircraft, the inside of an aircraft fuselage is divided into a plurality of decks or regions. Typically, a space for air freight (cargo) and baggage is located in a lowest deck. The rows of seats and inhabitable spaces for the passengers are accommodated in one or more decks located thereabove.
In one technique known to the inventor, a floor for the upper decks is arranged on cross beams. These cross beams are supported by struts aligned in the vertical direction. Forces acting in the transverse direction of the fuselage and the longitudinal direction of the fuselage are transmitted laterally by the cross beams to frames of the aircraft fuselage. So that the forces, in particular forces occurring in the longitudinal direction of the fuselage, are able to be transmitted, the cross beams extend as far as the frames and are directly connected thereto.
The cross beams, the struts arranged in the vertical direction and the frames, together with the skin of the aircraft fuselage encompass an edge region in which supply lines, signal lines, etc. are typically laid. After assembling the cross beams and the floor, the access to this edge region becomes considerably more difficult, which is why a subsequent introduction of supply lines, etc. during the manufacture of the aircraft is costly.